Graduate Research, Writing, and Careers in Computer Science

Graduate Research, Writing, and Careers in Computer Science

Graduate Student Orientation

You can find the slides from the graduate student orientation here

You can find the Iowa State University Computer Science Graduate Student Handbook here

Useful Books on Graduate Studies, Research and Careers in Computer Science

You can find a list of extremely useful books on research, scientific ethics, writing, dissertations, and scientific careers that I recommend to all of my graduate students here.

Online Resources on Graduate Study in Computer Science

Advice for Undergraduates Considering Graduate School by Phil Agre.
Notes on the Ph.D. Degree, by Doug Comer
How to Succeed in Graduate School - A Guide for Students and Advisors (Part 1) by Marie desJardins.
How to Succeed in Graduate School - A Guide for Students and Advisors (Part 2) by Marie desJardins.
Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences: A Survival Manual by Dianne Prost O'Leary.
Graduate School Survival Guide, Wanda Pratt.
Tomorrow's Professor - Excerpts from Richard Reis's book with the same title.
Computer Science Graduate School Survival Guide by Ronald Azuma.
Information for current and prospective graduate students by Timothy Finin.
Graduate School Superstars
Choosing an Advisor by Marshall Lev Dermer, UW-Milwaukee.
Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences: A Survival Manual by Dianne Prost O'Leary.
Networking on the Network by Phil Agre
How to be terrible graduate student (by Graeme Hirst, University of Toronto).
How to cope with "burnout", by Andreas Gehmeyr.

Online Resources on Ethics

On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research from the National Academy of Sciences
Course on Responsible Conduct in Research, from Columbia University
Integrity in Scientific Research, Videos from American Association for the Advancement of Science
Ethics in Computing by Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University
Association of Computing Machinery Computing and Public Policy Page (including Code of Ethics)
Iowa State University's Code of Computer Ethics
Netiquette, by Virginia Shea.
Resources on Plagiarism and How to Avoid it Iowa State University Library.
On Line Ethics Center for Science and Engineering from Case Western Reserve University
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

Online Resources on Research in Computer Science

You and your research, by Richard Hamming.
A Letter to Research Students, by Duane A. Bailey
How to Read a Research Paper
How to do research in Computer Science by Michael Schillo, German Research Center for AI.
Research Methods in Computer Science (Tom Dietterich's course at Oregon State).
Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences: A Survival Manual, by Dianne O'Leary
How to do Research in the MIT AI Lab, ed. David Chapman
How to Have a Bad Career in Research/Academia by David Patterson
Dissertation News, published by The Association for Support of Graduate Students.

Online Resources on Writing, Publication, and Presentation

Grammar and Style

The Writer's Handbook, from the University of Wisconsin
Elements of Style, William Strunk
Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling from Purdue University
Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization - A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors, from NASA.
Information Systems and Technology Style Guide, from Berkeley

Writing a Thesis

Writing and Presentation of Thesis or Dissertation by Joseph Levine.
How to write a Ph.D. thesis by Joe Wolfe
On Ph.D. Thesis Proposals, by H. C. Lauer
Structure of CS Dissertations, by Spencer Rugaber
How to write a thesis in an Experimental area of Computer Science by Doug Comer.
How to Organize Your Thesis by John Chinneck
Thesis Defense by Chris Riesbeck
Hints on Ph.D. Thesis Defense by Ed Coffman, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Sal Stolfo.
Preparing for Ph.D. Defense by Andrew Broad.

Writing Papers and Abstracts

How to Publish a Scientific Paper, by Sharon Downes
Me Write Pretty One Day: How to Write a Good Scientific Paper, ASCB Women in Cell Biology
How to write up your results for publication, Paul Doughty
How to Write a Good Research Paper, by Simon Peyton Jones.
How (and How Not) to Write a Good Systems Paper by Roy Levin and David D. Redell
Hints on good mathematical writing, by David Goss
A primer on mathematical writing, by Steven L. Kleiman
Mathematical Writing by Don Knuth (including videos of lectures).
How not to write a research paper by Oded Goldreich
Advice to Authors of Extended Abstracts, by William Pugh
How To Have Your Abstract Rejected, by van Leunen and Lipton.
Ian Parberry's Guide for for New Referees, by Ian Parberry.
Technical Writing Tips by Henning Schulzrinne

Presenting Research

How to Give a Good Research Talk, by Simon Peyton Jones et al. Talk
Presenting Research by Marie desJardins
Ian Parberry's Guide for Speakers, by Ian Parberry.
On Short Talks, by Charles Van Loan, Cornell University
Tips on giving a 15-minute talk Scott Keogh

Writing Research Proposals

The Art of Grantsmanship, by Jacob Kraicer
How to Write a Strong Research Proposal by Simon Peyton Jones and Alan Bundy. Talk
Tips for Writing Research Proposal by Joseph Levine
A Guide for Proposal Writing, from the National Science Foundation
All About Grants from the National Institutes of Health

Online Resources for Women in Computer Science

CRA Committee on Status of Women in Computer Science with many pointers to resources for women in computing.

Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships

Online Resources on Careers in Computer Science

Online Resources on Life after Graduate School

Transition form graduate student to assistant professor
The Assistant Professor's Guide to the Galaxy by George Bekey.
Resources for new professors by Nigel Ward.

Humor

This list of resources for graduate students is maintained by Dr. Vasant Honavar, Department of Computer Science, Iowa State University. Please send suggestions, additions, or changes to: honavar@cs.iastate.edu.